A Guild Well Done? Companions

Of the few guilds within Skyrim, The Companions are one of these few and among them they are the Guild with the most obvious and also interesting enemy, the Silver Hand. So what are your thoughts on them. Individual Members, the ideal behind the Guild, the Werewolf Power (and all it's little backstory).

I do enjoy the Companion guild quest line but I think they could of gone in a much better direction with it. I thought that it was going to be a romp through the lore of the ancient heros of skyrim and the different adventures, rites of passage, challenges and rewards. But the werewolf thing does ok.

That's my least favorite guild. First, because you must become a werewolf willingly to progress the quest which is quite an obstacle for RP. They should've given an alternative to the players, similarly to Dawnguard DLC. Second, because you are forced to take followers to the quests and I prefer going solo. Third, because the only interesting character in the guild is killed later in the questline. Fourth, because you are forced to do radiant quests to progress the main one (Dark Brotherhood also suffers from that). Fifth, guard comments about my characters fetching mead

I agree with Vaz and Golden. It goes by too quickly to appreciate. Skjor is dead before you know him, and there's little treason to interact with the other Companions. It's good that they let you cure and receive lycanthropy as many times as you want, but making it required feels kind of forced. I like the guild, but they're not well developed or that exciting to join.

There is no doubt that the Companions quest line was rushed and so many possibilities have been thrown to the wayside.

However I ALWAYS play as a companion along with two mods. Enhanced Aela improves her character dramatically and Enhanced Faction Companions improves the companions quest line and the amount of quests it offers. Content added to the faction includes actually being able to spar with the companions and you could even end up having Aela follow you on your trial. Kodlak also spends a lot more time around the hall. You can also increase the amount of quests you need to do.

I honestly feel they should have given the player a choice to join the companions or join the Silver Hands. Imagine the Jarls face when the Companions are exposed. That added with two other mods Moonlight tales and werewolf mastery makes the companions one of the best aspects of the game. I just wished there was a mod to bring Kodlak back or prevent him dying.

In terms of mods, same here. Enhanced Companions Guild is a fantastic mod and fixes most things wrong with the guild. What I think is the best part of that mod, though, is the conversations, the information you get from the other Companions and the history, so you don't feel like the mercenary guild was made yesterday but millennia ago. Bethesda should introduce it in a damn patch these days. I think Kodlack dying is a big part of the story though, showing the Companions a grim reality of what they face.

Of everything that can be considered "squiffy" in Skyrim, one of the things that really makes me grind my teeth is the Silver Hand. They are bandits with silver weapons out to kill the perfect, innocent Companions. The questline suffers from a lack of "show, not tell". We know almost nothing about them and they seem to just be a faceless enemy so you can go through a few dungeons and kill a few dozen of them. We're told they hunt down and kill werewolves (specifically the companions), but live like common bandits and have no concern or reason for their actions. Personally, I would have loved if, instead of the Silver Hand, we had the Vigilant to go against. Maybe an alternate side that could involve you joining them to ward the Companions off their daedra worshipping ways.

Most of the complaints in this thread seem endemic to all the guilds/factions in Skyrim.

I hate the Companions and Thieves' Guild for forcing you to become a Werewolf and Nightingale. It breaks my RP. The Companions, at least, provide the means to reverse lycanthropy and remove it from the faction (save Aela).

Really, why wouldn't you want to become a Nightingale? Better thieving abilities combined with Nocturnal's blessing with pretty much nothing in return, aside from serving her in the afterlife? Seems the perfect choice for a thief to me. No need to waste your time worshipping her in life, and something to do in death. Though it would have been cool to side with Mercer and keep the Skeleton Key, or betray both him and the Nightingales to keep the key to yourself.

Mercer is a Nightingale and to fight him as an equal, you too have to be one. That's what the game tells you. Companions questline is different. There is no issue that forces the character to become a werewolf. The only reason to become one is because Skjor says so.

Speaking of Skjor...What does everyone think of the way he died. Skjor is apparently a very powerful person, he isn't like Kodlak who spends most of his time as a glorified councilor and just sort of sits around moping. Skjor goes out to hunt very often if conversations with Aela are to be believed. He knows how to fight the Silver Hand and has been for years.

He is a strong warrior, a smart one and he knew his enemy better then anyone, and yet he is killed fairly easily (Did anyone else remember seeing bodies of dead Silver Hand members lying around, I didn't) this would indicate that he just sort of died.

I'm with Shor here. I bet there was some deal planned between Skjor and Krev, probably involving Kodlak's assassination. The way Silver Hand managed to kill Kodlak raises quite a few questions... They likely had help from the inside, and I'd place the blame at Skjor.

But his death is suspicious indeed, the Silver Hand (Bandits more or less) can break into Whiterun, make it all the way upto Jorrvaskr and then fight through the entire guild.. I smell some bullshit story around here.

Well, either the removal of the Dragonborn character(why would he be taken to the enemy's place like that, and Skjor go in like he did), Or something like that. I think he saw Aela and The DB as a threat. Skjor looked like he would be next in line. I bet he wanted to make sure.

I find the conspiracy angle extremely unconvincing. It doesn't really fit the groups in question, and relies on absence of evidence. If there were actually some hints that something weird happened, I'd consider it, but everyone in the game just takes all the events at face value.